Windows Phone 8.1 screenshot surfaces

A leaked screenshot of Windows Phone 8.1 has surfaced showing what looks to be a panel for quick settings. Obtained by TheWinCentral, the screenshot aligns nicely with the previously leaked snap from evleaks, which showed on-screen navigation buttons.

If the screenshot is to be believed, a quick drawer panel will be available when you swipe down from the top of the screen. It takes about half of the display and holds two volume rockers for ringer and notifications plus media and apps. There's also a shortcut for silent mode and settings in addition to quick music controls.

It's possible for the screenshot to be photoshopped, so we won't hold our breath too much on it.

Nevertheless, the notification area still hasn't leaked. Quite possibly, it won't be too much different from the style guidelines of the quick settings drawer that we see on the left.

Finally, we shouldn't forget that Microsoft is also working on its own virtual personal assistant for Windows Phone. It's believed to be called Cortana and will be deeply integrated into the OS experience just iOS and Android do with Siri and Google Now.

Check out a quick video of a beta version of Cortana in action.

The new features are part of the Windows Phone "Blue" update, also known as Windows Phone 8.1. Its announcement is expected to come at Microsoft's Build 2014 conference. It kicks off April 2 and end on April 4, so if announced there, the update would probably be available towards the fall of 2014.